1939 – The first German aircraft shot down over France and first German aircraft brought down by a single-seat fighter in World War II is a Dornier DO-17; it is brought down by Pilot Officer Mould’s Hawker Hurricane of No. 1 Squadron RAF near Vassincourt.

1944 – First flight of the Short S.45 Seaford, a British flying boat (shown); derived from the Short Sunderland, it is designed to be a long-ranged maritime patrol bomber for the Royal Air Force Coastal Command.